Six out of 10 Norwegians would like to eat a healthier diet, but only 14 per cent of the population consumes enough vegetables despite the well-known health benefits of vegetables. Because food habits are slow to change, the most effective way of improving public health is to make the most popular categories and products healthier.

That’s why Orkla Foods Norge is now launching Fersk Grønnsakspasta (fresh vegetable pasta) from Toro. This fresh pasta is made of pasta dough with a 40% vegetable content. The product is totally unique in Norway and is made exclusively from all-natural ingredients, contains little fat and has no added salt or sugar. Besides vegetables, the pasta is made of wheat and eggs.

“The most effective way we can improve public health is to make Norwegians’ favourite foods healthier, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with Fersk Grønnsakspasta,” says Linn Anne Bjelland Brunborg, Head Nutritionist at Orkla Foods Norge.

Not only does the product make it easier to eat vegetables for dinner, it also tastes fantastic. Just like ordinary fresh pasta, but with a hint of vegetables. The pasta only needs to be boiled for one minute.

Fersk Grønnsakspasta from Toro comes in three varieties: broccoli and peas, carrots and cauliflower.

“We want to make it easier to make a healthier dinner. To do that, people have to eat more vegetables,” she adds.

According to the annual Spisefakta food habit survey conducted in 2014, Norwegian consumers love to eat pasta, and the Italian national dish can be found on people’s plates more than once a week. Pasta (all kinds) is eaten primarily by people under 40 and in households with children. Fresh pasta is the variety that is showing shown the greatest increase in consumption.

The vegetable pasta was first launched in February by Orkla Foods Danmark and has been a great success there. Fersk Grønnsakspasta provides around 50 grams of vegetables in each 125-gram portion of pasta. 100 grams of finished pasta contains, for example, 29 grams of carrot and 71 grams of flour, gluten and eggs.